No decision yet on triggering election: Ignatieff

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff would not say whether he’s ready to try to take Stephen Harper's minority government off "life support," saying a decision will be made after consultations with party members.

But Ignatieff, speaking in Sudbury, Ont., on Monday — where Liberal MPs, senators and staff are gathering to plot strategy — suggested the Liberals would not back the government unless it changed its direction.

"I can’t be an accomplice with a government that doesn’t do its job," he said in French, responding to a reporter's question.

Yet Ignatieff said any decision about the fate of the Tory government will be made after listening to caucus.

"It is not a personal decision," he said. "It is a decision that the party will take as a party. We are more united than ever and we will make this decision — I keep using the word serenely — it will be a serene decision and clear one."

Ignatieff said any decision to try to topple the government will be based on principle, not opinion polls.

Ignatieff said that in June, he made it clear the government’s performance was letting Canada down. That situation, he said, has not improved over the summer.

"We have kept this show on life support for 10 months and I said in June very clearly that I felt the government's performance on a whole range of issues left a lot to be desired," Ignatieff said. "So we've got some tough decisions to make in Sudbury and we'll make them."

Ignatieff said his party voted for a budget they had "serious reservations" about in order to get some stimulus into the economy.

Ignatieff rejected the suggestion that a disagreement over the issue of employment insurance would be the catalyst to trigger an election.

"The main issue is the performance of the Harper government," he said.

Ignatieff and Harper agreed in June to set up a committee to examine employment insurance reform after the Liberal leader threatened to trigger a confidence vote on the issue.

Ignatieff was heavily criticized in the media for the move, as well as for what some columnists have dubbed his absence from the national stage over the summer break.

On Monday, Ignatieff said negotiations with the Tories over employment insurance have been "a charade."

Last week, the Liberals' national campaign co-chairman, Senator David Smith, was quoted as saying the party would not force an election in the fall over EI reform.

Ignatieff's supporters say the Liberal leader has focused his summer appearances in places not always covered by national media, including a Prince Edward Island riding where Liberals believe they can take a seat from the Tories in the next election.

The Liberals' support in polls has stagnated all summer at around 30 per cent, just below Harper's Conservatives.

But Liberal officials say new memberships have doubled in recent months, while the party is getting much better at wooing small donations from supporters.

Fundraising dinner draws criticism

Such small donations are critical to the party's success, according to the Liberals' chief fundraiser, Rocco Rossi, who personally raised $25,000 this summer kayaking down the Rideau Canal.

"You need a broad active base that sees donorship as part of membership," he told CBC News.

But a $550-a-plate fundraising dinner slated for Monday night in Sudbury has garnered criticism from local unions and the NDP, as about 3,000 workers with Vale Inco enter their seventh week on the picket lines with no negotiations between the company and the union.

Some workers along the picket line described the dinner as a "slap in the face" and said they planned to protest outside the event.

Sudbury New Democrat MP Glenn Thibeault also plans to hold a dinner of his own, serving spaghetti and salad at $5.50 a plate to support miners who find themselves without a job.

"My whole meal … is going to cost about $550 to feed about 150 to 200 people, so there's a big difference here," he said.

Liberal MP Maria Minna defended the party fundraiser, saying it was planned long in advance. She insisted this week's gathering will benefit the local community and the country politically and economically.

"We're also going to be spending money, by the way," she told CBC News. "I think we're giving."